1. Field
The present invention relates to software, and more specifically to methods, systems and programs for software system development.
2. Background
Nearly all businesses rely on computer systems for at least some of the operational aspects of their business. The design requirements for an information technology software solution (IT solution) depend largely on the management philosophy of the customer as well as the operational needs of the business. Some of the more common IT solutions include bookkeeping and accounting systems, inventory and asset management systems, solutions to manage the company's IT network and communications infrastructure, security systems, and solutions to organize the business processes and ensure the continuum of their operations. An IT solution may be designed to perform any combination of these activities or other business functions. Software vendors are often called upon to develop new, customized solutions that address specific business needs.
A software vendor may spend a great deal of effort to develop an IT solution customized to the particular needs of a business client. It often takes many months to write, debug and streamline the computer code for an IT solution with the desired look and feel, and customized features tailored for the customer's business needs. Even though a great deal of effort may go into the development of an IT solution, the initial IT solution may not always address all of the customer's business requirements and system management requirements. It is sometimes necessary to add system management capabilities to the IT solution following the completion of the initial integration, especially if the customer's requirements are changed during the project. Even though the initial IT solution may satisfy the business requirements specified by the customer, a great deal of effort may be needed if the customer later decides to include additional management requirements (e.g., application monitoring, security, and backup/restore, etc.) or other features.
Customers can generally purchase the system management solutions from the same software vendor or software developer that handled the initial integration of the IT solution. The vendor may even have off-the-shelf system management solutions readily available. However, according to the conventional approach, once the initial integration has been completed the customer must pay for system integration services again in order to later install and configure additional system management solutions. Generally, the fees for system integration services to later install and configure the system management solutions come in addition to the fees for the earlier, initial integration of the IT solution. This can make it prohibitively expensive to add system management solutions after the initial integration has been completed.
What is needed is a more flexible and efficient approach for software system development.